Gastonia eliminates Post 77 from legion playoffs

Henderson County Post 77 Austin Fisher (2) tries to tag out a Gastonia player at home plate during a game at East Henderson Friday.

PATRICK SULLIVAN/ TIMES-NEWS

By RON WAGNERTimes-News Correspondent

Published: Saturday, July 5, 2014 at 11:33 a.m.

Last Modified: Saturday, July 5, 2014 at 11:33 a.m.

EAST FLAT ROCK – For the second game in a row, Henderson County Post 77's Area IV playoff series with Gastonia Post 23 came down to the ninth inning. And for the second game in a row, Post 23 got the job done when it mattered most.

As a result, Gastonia will be playing in the second round for the first time since 2007 while Henderson County gets the rest of the summer off.

Post 23 broke up a 1-1 game in the top half of the final frame at East Henderson High School with six runs that propelled Gastonia a 7-1 victory and a three-games-to-one series win on a sunny Independence Day afternoon.

Henderson County blew a 5-4 lead in the bottom of the ninth on Thursday night in Gastonia to suffer a 6-5 loss that put Post 77 on the verge of elimination, but seldom-used pitcher Caleb Williamson turned in a tremendous performance barely 15 hours later to give his teammates every chance in the world to keep their season alive.

Williamson, who started at shortstop but didn't pitch an inning for Hendersonville High this season, kept Gastonia off balance with excellent control and an array of offspeed pitches. He scattered seven hits through eight innings and walked just one batter, giving up a single run in the fifth when Connor Anderson singled, was bunted to second and came around on a pair of wild pitches.

“You couldn't ask for a better job,” Post 77 coach Ray Gill said. “We knew this team struggled with slow, offspeed pitching. Caleb surprised me going out there and dealing with those guys.”

But Post 23 hurler Mitch Cunningham was even more dominant, and after Gill decided to remove Williamson after he surrendered a one-out single to leadoff batter Garrett Lowery in the ninth Henderson County disintegrated.

Wes Wood greeted reliever Austin Fisher with a bloop single to put runners at first and second, and Lowery scored the go-ahead run when Post 77 made two errors attempting to turn a double play on Andrew Ray's grounder – the first when shortstop Brett Baker threw the ball away attempting to complete the relay from first baseman Wes Brady and the second when Brady threw the ball to the fence attempting to get Lowery out.

Fisher then walked Aaron Nanney, hit Matt Denham, walked Jared Wallace and hit Alex Patton while also throwing three wild pitches to bring in two more runs, which forced Gill to put Zane Atkins on the hill. Atkins promptly plunked Anderson with the bases loaded to push Denham across, and Matt Faulkner broke things up with a two-run single.

“(Williamson) was right at a hundred pitches and not used to throwing that much. That's a decision as a coach you always question,” Gill said. “I had Fish, who is pretty much the ace of our staff, ready to go, and it was the fifth time through the lineup. … I made the move and it just didn't work out for us.”

Cunningham retired Post 77 in order on just five pitches in the bottom half to close out the game, marking the sixth time in nine innings he faced the minimum. Cunningham, a right-hander, used a steady stream of curve balls and well-placed fastballs to dominate Henderson County's lefty-free lineup, striking out nine and giving up only singles to Zack Oberlies, Sage Cornatzer and Baker while walking nobody.

He recorded 13 straight outs to start the game.

“The story of the (game), and it's been the story of the last week, is we're just not hitting right now. It's as simple as that,” Gill said. “Tip your hat to the guy they threw out there, but we've got to be a little bit better. … This is game 26. These guys have to be able to make an adjustment to that.”

Oberlies scored Henderson County's only run in the fifth when he advanced to third on Post 23 shortstop Wood's error, the team's only miscue, and came in on Tucker Epperson's sacrifice fly.

Gastonia (14-7) is the No. 2 seed from the East, while Henderson County (11-15) was the seventh seed from the West.

<p>EAST FLAT ROCK – For the second game in a row, Henderson County Post 77's Area IV playoff series with Gastonia Post 23 came down to the ninth inning. And for the second game in a row, Post 23 got the job done when it mattered most.</p><p>As a result, Gastonia will be playing in the second round for the first time since 2007 while Henderson County gets the rest of the summer off.</p><p>Post 23 broke up a 1-1 game in the top half of the final frame at East Henderson High School with six runs that propelled Gastonia a 7-1 victory and a three-games-to-one series win on a sunny Independence Day afternoon.</p><p>Henderson County blew a 5-4 lead in the bottom of the ninth on Thursday night in Gastonia to suffer a 6-5 loss that put Post 77 on the verge of elimination, but seldom-used pitcher Caleb Williamson turned in a tremendous performance barely 15 hours later to give his teammates every chance in the world to keep their season alive.</p><p>Williamson, who started at shortstop but didn't pitch an inning for Hendersonville High this season, kept Gastonia off balance with excellent control and an array of offspeed pitches. He scattered seven hits through eight innings and walked just one batter, giving up a single run in the fifth when Connor Anderson singled, was bunted to second and came around on a pair of wild pitches.</p><p>“You couldn't ask for a better job,” Post 77 coach Ray Gill said. “We knew this team struggled with slow, offspeed pitching. Caleb surprised me going out there and dealing with those guys.”</p><p>But Post 23 hurler Mitch Cunningham was even more dominant, and after Gill decided to remove Williamson after he surrendered a one-out single to leadoff batter Garrett Lowery in the ninth Henderson County disintegrated.</p><p>Wes Wood greeted reliever Austin Fisher with a bloop single to put runners at first and second, and Lowery scored the go-ahead run when Post 77 made two errors attempting to turn a double play on Andrew Ray's grounder – the first when shortstop Brett Baker threw the ball away attempting to complete the relay from first baseman Wes Brady and the second when Brady threw the ball to the fence attempting to get Lowery out.</p><p>Fisher then walked Aaron Nanney, hit Matt Denham, walked Jared Wallace and hit Alex Patton while also throwing three wild pitches to bring in two more runs, which forced Gill to put Zane Atkins on the hill. Atkins promptly plunked Anderson with the bases loaded to push Denham across, and Matt Faulkner broke things up with a two-run single.</p><p>“(Williamson) was right at a hundred pitches and not used to throwing that much. That's a decision as a coach you always question,” Gill said. “I had Fish, who is pretty much the ace of our staff, ready to go, and it was the fifth time through the lineup. … I made the move and it just didn't work out for us.”</p><p>Cunningham retired Post 77 in order on just five pitches in the bottom half to close out the game, marking the sixth time in nine innings he faced the minimum. Cunningham, a right-hander, used a steady stream of curve balls and well-placed fastballs to dominate Henderson County's lefty-free lineup, striking out nine and giving up only singles to Zack Oberlies, Sage Cornatzer and Baker while walking nobody.</p><p>He recorded 13 straight outs to start the game.</p><p>“The story of the (game), and it's been the story of the last week, is we're just not hitting right now. It's as simple as that,” Gill said. “Tip your hat to the guy they threw out there, but we've got to be a little bit better. … This is game 26. These guys have to be able to make an adjustment to that.”</p><p>Oberlies scored Henderson County's only run in the fifth when he advanced to third on Post 23 shortstop Wood's error, the team's only miscue, and came in on Tucker Epperson's sacrifice fly.</p><p>Gastonia (14-7) is the No. 2 seed from the East, while Henderson County (11-15) was the seventh seed from the West.</p>